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DVD extras include eight minutes of deleted scenes; a gag reel; and a piece analyzing the final scene (a cliff-jumper as opposed to a cliffhanger).
Movie: ***
Extras: **
THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD (1965). This pitch-perfect adaptation of John le Carre's bestseller captures the Cold War in all its chilly complexity. Richard Burton stars as Alec Leamas, a burnt-out agent who's assigned by British Intelligence to pose as a defector in order to gain access to a specific Communist clique headed by Mundt (Peter Van Eyck), a former Nazi and a thorn in Leamas' side, and Fiedler (Oskar Werner), a Jewish intellectual who despises Mundt. Leamas commences the charade by posing as a drunk who, when he manages to stay sober, works at a library; there, he meets Nan Perry (Claire Bloom), a Brit whose idealism has led her to join the Communist Party. Director Martin Ritt, scripters Paul Dehn and Guy Trosper, and cinematographer Oswald Morris all do an exemplary job of punching across the seediness, soullessness and futility of the East-West struggle (no side is innocent in these spy games), and Bloom and especially Werner are excellent as two of the few participants who exhibit any signs of discernible emotion amidst all these power plays. Yet this is Burton's picture from first frame to last: As Alec Leamas, a weary man no longer able to keep his humanity in check, he delivers a towering performance that's second only to his turn in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as the finest of his career. Burton deservedly earned an Oscar nomination, as did the art direction-set decoration.
Extras in the two-disc Criterion edition include a new, 39-minute interview with le Carre; an hour-long BBC documentary from 2000 about the author's life and career; a 1985 audio interview with Ritt; and a 1967 interview with Burton from the BBC series, Acting in the 60's.
Movie: ***1/2
Extras: ***
STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS (2008). Pop quiz, hotshot. Which line of dialogue does not appear in a Star Wars movie? A) "May the Force be with you." B) "Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son." C) "So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause." D) "OK, sweetums, I've got some yum-yum for you." I wish I could say that the correct answer is D), but all four lines appear in one installment or another, with that atrocious final snippet appearing in this animated eyesore. The early word was that only Star Wars fanatics would enjoy this addition to the franchise, but that's grossly inaccurate: As someone who was 11 years old when the original film hit theaters back in 1977 and thus has always considered it a rite-of-passage milestone, I was nauseated upon stumbling out of George Lucas' latest sorry attempt to squeeze every last penny out of this franchise. Set in the period between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, this focuses on the war that helped the evil Empire take over the galaxy. The plot concerns the efforts of Anakin Skywalker and his sassy apprentice, a teen named Ahsoka Tano (Lucasfilm, meet the Disney Channel), to rescue Jabba the Hutt's kidnapped baby boy (nicknamed "Stinky") from Count Dooku and his posse. What sort of nonsense is this? The CGI animation, which director Dave Filoni states was inspired by both Japanese anime and Thunderbirds' puppets, is harsh on the eyes and proves to be aesthetically unpleasing. A couple of action sequences manage to elevate this out of the realm of utter despair, but for the most part, this is curdled cinema that even the fans will upchuck.
Extras in the two-disc DVD set include audio commentary by director Dave Filoni, producer Catherine Winder, writer Henry Gilroy and editor Jason W.A. Tucker; three pieces plugging various aspects (plotlines, voiceover actors and music score) of the new Clone Wars TV series; six Webisodes; and four deleted scenes.
Movie: *1/2
Extras: **1/2
TROPIC THUNDER (2008). The opening salvo of Tropic Thunder reps perhaps the funniest 10 minutes I've encountered in a movie this year – that's good news in that it kicks the picture off on a high note and bad news in that it instantly raises concerns that the remaining 95 minutes won't come close to touching this raucous beginning. But the best news is that the movie manages to keep the laughs hurtling forward for its entire running time, no small feat in an era in which many comedies lose steam by the final reel. Ben Stiller stars as Tugg Speedman, a macho action star whose one attempt at an awards-bait title, the resounding flop Simple Jack, has largely derailed his career. Jack Black plays Jeff Portnoy, a comedian known for vulgar blockbusters (up next: The Fatties, Fart 2), while Robert Downey Jr. essays the role of Kirk Lazarus, a five-time Academy Award-winning actor. All three, plus rap star Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) and screen newcomer Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel), are in Vietnam shooting the war movie to end all war movies. After finding themselves lost in the jungle, they become the targets of heavily armed locals who don't take kindly to what they mistakenly believe to be DEA agents searching for their heroin factory. Decidedly non-PC, Tropic Thunder displays minimal mercy toward its targets, yet even its gross-out gags display a manic ingenuity far removed from the one-note crudeness found in your typical Will Ferrell vehicle. All of the performances are inspired (including Tom Cruise in a change-of-pace part), yet top acting honors go to Downey, who between this and Iron Man had a helluva 2008.
